


Don't Take My Whole World Away.

by Letha



Category: Whose Line Is It Anyway? RPF
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-21
Updated: 2013-01-21
Packaged: 2017-11-26 08:50:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,565
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/648785
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Letha/pseuds/Letha
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Based on Prompt#45 of the <a href="http://www.wl-fanfiction.livejournal.com/"><em>wl-fanfiction</em></a>'s Whose-A-Thon: <i> "You can't come here in the middle of the night and expect me to forgive you." </i></p>
            </blockquote>





	Don't Take My Whole World Away.

_"No me lo digas por favor  
Porque ya puedo adivinar   
En tu mirada tan fugaz  
Que mete miedo  
  
Por lo que puedo sospechar   
Algo tu quieres terminar  
Pero te asusta decidirte   
A hablar primero  
  
No me vayas a quitar el mundo entero  
No me digas que te vas porque me muero  
Dime si es esta la razon   
Por la cual miras con dolor   
Como si fueras a matar   
Lo mas sincero  
  
Dame la bendicion de la esperanza  
Aunque es una mentira que no alcanza  
En tu mirada descubri   
Que todo todo termino   
Solo me resta el dolor..."  
  
 **[ Translation:**  
  
Don't tell it to me please  
Because I can already guess  
In your brief glance  
That is scaring me  
  
For what I can suspect  
There's something that you want to end  
But you are too scared to decide  
To talk first  
  
Don't take my whole world away  
Don't tell me that you are going away because I'll die  
Tell me if that's the reason why  
You're staring with pain in your eyes  
As if you were going to kill  
The most sincere thing  
  
Give me the blessing of the hope  
Although it's a lie that's not enough  
In your eyes I discovered_  
 _That everything, everything, is over  
All that there's left for me is pain. **]**  
  
 **( El Mundo Entero - Fito Paez and Rubén Rada)**_  
  
  
  
  
  


* * *

  
  
Josie was leaning against the door's frame, looking straight into Greg's eyes, right through his glasses. Her lover was standing there, soaked to the bone and with a dripping bouquet in one hand.  
  
He lifted up his hands a little. “I'm really sorry, Jo.”  
  
His puppy-eyes did it. She let him in, letting herself indulge in the kissing and forget his betrayal.  
  
They talked. They had passionate make-up sex. They kissed and held each other. They came screaming each others' name. They made love.  
  
Or so it seemed. The next morning, Josie woke up in an empty bed. He was gone again.

 

* * *

  
Josie wondered why several times. She asked herself where she had gone wrong, why he didn't love her anymore, why he kept leaving. She blamed herself. She hated herself for messing up. She knew it was her fault. She was probably the one who screwed up. Why  _would_  he love her, anyway? What was she? She was nothing.  
  
Caroline and Sandi had stopped by. They had drunk tea and pretended not to notice the fact that she looked like Hell. They smiled and talked, but Josie barely replied. They had left, wishing there was something they could do.  
  
Stephen appeared one night with a movie and a bag of pop-corn kernels. He was grinning, but when he saw his best friend smiling sadly, he hugged her tight. Josie wept, and told him the whole story. But he didn't get it. He kept insisting Greg was blind for not realizing what he had. He repeated there was nothing wrong with her, that she hadn't screwed up. That he was a douche. Josie kicked him out, screaming.  
  
The next Whose Line recording, she saw Greg in the dressing room. They were about to go out on stage, and he had been avoiding her ever since he set foot in the studio. He was now straightening his vest, and the dressing lady was leaving the room. She smiled at Josie before going out, but she didn't even pay attention. She was looking at the man she loved.  
  
He saw her reflection in the mirror, and his smile dropped. “Jo, I...”  
  
She said nothing. She didn't even move. Her eyes were filled with tears as he turned around to face her.  
  
“I did it again. I'm so sorry.” The tears she had been holding back now escaped her eyes, rolling down her cheeks in silent testimony of her pain and the war between her brain and her heart that was going on inside of her.  
  
Josie knew she had to walk away and leave the bastard there, lying on the floor after a nice kick in the nuts. But she couldn't. And when he walked towards her and put his arms around her, she felt complete again. He kissed her, and she kissed him back.  
  
She let him into her life again. He wiped away her tears, and held her close.  
  
“I'm sorry, Jo. I'm so sorry...” Greg kept on repeating.  
  
But she assured him it was nothing, and kissed him again, just to make sure it was real. And it was.  
  
After the taping, Josie and Greg took a cab together to her place. Stephen, who was walking out holding hands with Frosty, looked at her sadly.  
  
Greg and Josie made love again that night.  
  


* * *

  
  
Things went well for them for a couple more days. Greg stayed over the whole weekend, and they laughed and talked. They made love one time after another, and when they were exhausted, laying together on the floor, bed, couch, or wherever they had been having sex before, they pampered each other, caressing the other one's cheek, or stroking their hair.  
  
They kissed innumerable times. They laughed together. And they ignored the issue of  _why_  Greg kept walking away. They thought it was easier that way, and so they let it be.  
  


* * *

  
  
On Monday, Greg gathered his clothes and other personal belongings, got dressed, and walked once more into the bedroom to look at Josie. To his surprise, she was sitting on the bed, still naked, but looking at him.  There were tears and confusion in her eyes. There was pain. There was a broken heart.  
  
“Why?” She asked suddenly, her voice broken. A tear rolled down her face as she finished speaking.  
  
He didn't reply. Instead, he ran a hand through his hair.  
  
“Why?” She repeated. “Don't you love me anymore?” She was trying to make eye contact with him, but he was avoiding it. “Am I not good enough?”  
  
Finally he raised his face to look at her again. The moonlight made the room blue, matching both their feelings.  
  
“Jo, it's not you, okay?”  
  
“Then, why?” Josie asked with her cheeks now wet. “Why do you keep walking away?”  
  
Greg had no idea. He just knew he had to. He said so to Josie, and she shook her head.  
  
“I love you; I need you here,” she begged.  
  
He walked to the side of the bed and cupped her cheek, looking into her tearful eyes. He sighed, kissed her sweetly and softly, and left once more.  
  
She watched him walk away again, and cried for the rest of the night.  
  


* * *

  
  
Stephen was there for his friend again, even though she had kicked him out last time. He didn't hold it against her, after all. He held Josie and soothed her until she fell asleep. Then, he proceeded to caress her hair and watch her rest.  
  
Greg was behaving like a dick. He had no right to do that to her. Stephen knew he would kill for someone like Josie if he were straight. And he knew his Frosty was quite like her. He smiled at the thought of his lover, but pushed it aside and went back to thinking of Josie and Greg.  
  
“He has no idea what he's missing, sweetie,” he stated, running his fingers through her hair as she smiled in her sleep.  
  
Stephen sighed.  
  


* * *

  
  
Stephen stayed over for a few days. Frosty stopped by once to drop off a bag full of clothes and other stuff he thought his lover would need. He was invited in, and they shared a cup of tea and some pastries.  
  
“And he just walked away?” Frosty asked. Josie nodded, watching her friends. Stephen was lying on his lover's chest, and they were holding hands.  
  
Stephen looked up and into his boyfriend’s eyes, who was frowning his thick brow in deep thought.  
  
Frosty sighed. “He has no idea what he’s missing, Jo,” he stated. It was the first time Josie had heard him talk non-mockingly. She looked away. She was the one missing something, not Greg.  
  


* * *

  
  
Josie heard them talk while they thought she was asleep. She wasn’t. Actually, she was just drowsing. The Stephens were discussing something about her. It was her name that turned her brain back on.  
  
“What he did to Josie…he’s a dick,” Frosty was saying.  
  
“Yeah, but she’s like… obsessed with him.” Stephen replied.  
  
She heard Frosty sigh. “He’s a dick. He lured her to him…” he looked towards her, she was sure. Her eyes were closed, but she felt observed all of the sudden. “Poor Jo…”  
  
Good. So one of her friends thought she was a lunatic obsessed with a guy, and the other one thought she was just a poor brainless kid.  
  
Either way, they didn’t believe in the love she and Greg shared.  
  
She frowned, and let sleep enfold her in its strong arms.  
  


* * *

  
  
Josie woke up thanks to the loud snores Frosty was emitting from the guest room. She scrubbed a hand over her face and sighed, feeling the coolness of the sheets next to her. She felt alone. She felt lonely.  
  
She got up and walked to the window. Still night time.  
  
She heard a knock on the door. She would just ignore it. It was probably Sandi and Caroline again. But what would they know about loving a guy?  
  
Josie shivered. When had she become such a bitch? She walked to the door and opened it without asking whom it was, prepared to smile at her friends.  
  
But it wasn’t Sandi and Caroline. It was Greg.  
  
He was unshaven, his clothes a mess. He was holding a bouquet of roses in one hand. Again. But this time, his eyes were red. His hair was uncombed. There was one silent tear in one of his eyes.  
  
“Jo, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”  
  
She was speechless. She wanted to hit him, yell at him. But she also wanted to kiss him, let herself loose in his embrace, allow herself to drown in his eyes one more time.  
  
But before she got a chance to say anything, Stephen stormed into the room.  
  
“Get the fuck out of here, Gregory! How dare you come here and try to get her back when you keep walking away, and…” he started pushing Greg, his face red with anger. “You don’t bloody deserve her.”  
  
Frosty rushed towards him, and tried to placate his lover. “They need to talk. Let them,” he said soothingly. He cupped his lover’s face and looked into his eyes. “She’s a big, strong girl. She can do this.”  
  
Stephen nodded once and walked inside the house. Frosty smiled at him, but glared at Greg before leaving after his lover. When he was passing by Josie’s side, he squeezed her arm and looked silently into her eyes.  
  
When they were alone, Josie finally spoke. "You can't come here in the middle of the night and expect me to forgive you," she stated, standing on the threshold.  
  
He nodded. “I know. I don’t deserve it, anyway.”  
  
“Then why are you here?” She was unable to meet his eyes.  
  
“Because I love you,” he replied, much to her surprise.  
  
“Then why on Earth do you keep leaving?”  
  
He ran his free hand through his hair. “I don’t know, Jo. I just… I can’t stay. I’m afraid I’ll hurt you.”  
  
“You hurt me more by leaving,” she said with a broken voice. Tears were about to overwhelm her, but she wouldn’t let them win now. No. She couldn’t show him her weakness again. She cleared her throat. “I want you to stay.”  
  
He looked away, saying nothing.  
  
“Stay,” she heard herself plead. But she got a grip on herself and looked away once more. She wouldn’t beg. She had to stay strong.  
  
He shook his head. “No. I can’t.”  
  
“Why not, Greg?” He didn’t reply, and she insisted. “Why the Hell won’t you stay, if you love me?! Why? Explain to me, please, because I just can’t–”  
  
“Because I’m in love with Clive too!” he blurted out, interrupting her. He panted a few times and finally locked eyes with her. She was shocked. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Jo. But I’m afraid that if I stay, one day I’ll realize I love him more, and I’ll hurt you. And I don’t want to hurt you.”  
  
Josie took a step back, breathing hard. She was unable to keep the tears away from her eyes anymore. Her lower lip was trembling.  
  
“I–I can’t… I can’t breathe.”  
  
“Pumpkin, I…” Greg said, taking a step towards her. He was trying to placate her. But she looked at him with rage.  
  
“Leave me alone!” Josie screamed, the tears now falling from her eyes. She closed the door in his face.  
  
“Jo, open the door. Please. I need to talk to you,” he pleaded from the other side of the door, knocking on its wooden surface. Josie was leaning on it, weeping. She slid down until she was sitting on the floor. “Jo, please. I love you. I really do.”  
  
Greg’s muffled pleas only quieted about two hours later, when the sun was beginning to rise on the horizon.  
  


* * *

  
  
Stephen shook his best friend’s arm, waking her up. Her eyes were swollen and red.  
  
“Sweetie–”he began. But Josie interrupted him.  
  
“Is he gone?”  
  
Stephen had no idea. He helped her up, and she rushed to open the door. There, on the floor, was the man she loved. He woke up, startled by the sudden noise.  
  
“Clive?” he asked, still half-asleep.  
  
Josie flinched. “And once again, you screw up.”  
  
She closed the door in his face for the second time, hearing a muffled curse right afterwards, and renewed pleas of forgiveness. She walked to her bedroom and didn’t look back.  
  


* * *

  
  
By the time a week had passed, the Stephens had already gone home. She was left alone once again. The wireless phone was resting on her ribs, her hand over it. She was staring at the ceiling. Should she call him? Should she ask for an explanation? He had tried to reach her several times, but the Stephens had intervened, unplugging the phone or picking it up themselves. Greg had been to her house, but they hadn’t let him in.  He had slipped pieces of paper under the door, but they hadn’t let her read them.  
  
Josie wasn’t sure what to do. She was certain her friends were trying to help, but isolating her from him… She wasn’t sure it would do any good.  
  
Maybe if she just called him…  
  
But she would feel guilty. The Stephens would’ve had done all of that for nothing.  
  
But she needed closure, or maybe a second chance. What should she do?  
  
Josie picked up the phone and dialed Greg’s number. When he answered, calling out her name, she didn’t reply. She couldn’t.  
  
“Jo, please. Please tell me it’s you,” he said with a sad voice. He seemed tired.  
  
“It’s me,” she finally answered, and he let out a sigh full of relief.  
  
“I love you. I’m so sorry. I am so, so sorry, Jo. Please, I need to talk to you. I love you,” he was incoherent in his speech, rushing over the words.  
  
“Come today at five.”  
  
Josie hung up the phone. She was still staring at the ceiling.  
  


* * *

  
  
Time went by too slowly that day. She tidied her house, watered her plants, and washed herself. She would look at the clock every couple of minutes, and sigh in frustration when she saw how little time had gone by since she had last checked. But finally, five o’clock came. Josie prepared tea and set the teapot on the table, along with two cups, plates, and spoons. She was leaving the sugar pot on the table when the bell rang. She answered, and five minutes after Greg had set foot on her living room, the clock marked five o’clock.  
  
“I needed to explain it to you, but it had to be in person.”  
  
Josie nodded. It was the first time the silence was broken. She took a sip from her cup.  
  
“I really love you, Jo. I love you more than I ever loved anyone. But I love Clive too. I am still not over him. And I don’t know whom to choose. I don’t know. I don’t think I can choose right now,” Greg said, looking into her eyes. She could tell he was being honest.  
  
“And what do you expect me to do, Greg? I can’t share you. I love you too much,” she stated, placing her cup on its plate. “Last night I realized, you’re the first man that’s ever awoken a maternal instinct in me. Before, I was only interested in having a kid to pamper. But now… Greg, now I know that if I ever have a baby, I want it to be yours. And I won’t let our kid live in a house where its father is in love with two people. So you’d better choose, kitty. I can’t share you.”  
  
Greg was startled. “Are you giving me an ultimatum?”  
  
“I am.”  
  


* * *

  
  
Josie knew he needed time to think it through. She knew it was a tough decision. She knew he had a lot to process.  
  
She had finally told him about her dream of becoming a mother, of carrying his child. Greg had said it in the early stages of their relationship, before he started walking away. He had said he wanted to have a family with her. She knew he wanted this too.  
  
Josie sighed for the fifth time in ten minutes. She had called Stephen after Greg had left, and he had rushed over to her house.  
  
She was not crying, but she felt the pressure of the sadness that invaded her body concentrated on her chest. She listened patiently as Stephen cheered, complimenting her on her strength and resolution.  
  
But Josie didn’t feel strong. She felt empty. She was confused. She knew waiting would bring her pain. But she also knew it was the only thing left to do. The ball was on his court now.  
  


* * *

  
  
Two days later, Greg rang the bell once more. As soon as she opened the door, he spilled out the bad news.  
  
“I’m so sorry, Jo. I love him. I choose him.”  
  
She said nothing. She tried to process it, and to remain calm. She breathed in and out, slowly. He was leaving her for Clive. He was leaving her. They weren’t going to have a baby together. They weren’t getting married. They weren’t going to start a family. They weren’t going to have a future together. He was leaving her for Clive.  
  
As everything dawned on her, Josie stepped forward and hit his chest with her fists, weeping. “You’re a bastard. I… I hate you!” she screamed, and he hugged her. She went on hitting him weakly, letting the tears flow down her face. “I hate you,” she kept repeating in-between sobs.  
  
He stroked her hair. “I am so sorry, Jo. I love you, but…”  
  
“No. If you loved me there wouldn’t be a ‘but’. You don’t love me enough,” she retorted, breaking free from his embrace. He flinched and took a tentative step forward, his hands raised in a placating manner. “No! Leave me alone, Greg! Get out of here! Leave me alone!” she screamed and rushed into her house once more, closing the door with a strength she didn’t know she possessed, right on her lover’s nose.  
  


* * *

  
  
Almost three months had gone by. Josie had gone through every single phase. Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and, finally, she had accepted the fact that Greg wasn’t right for her. He loved someone else. He was confused. He was unstable.  
  
Two days after the day Greg had showed up at her house, she caught him and Clive making out in the green room. Greg had tried to explain, but she ran away and Stephen comforted her again.  
  
A week later, she had seen them going out together, holding hands.  
  
Josie knew Greg was brokenhearted, but at least he had someone to fix him, to comfort him. She had no-one. Yes, she had Stephen. But it just wasn’t the same.  
  
She kept seeing them together, doing things she was never going to do again with the man she loved.  
  
Her heart was slowly fixing, but it broke again a little every time she witnessed the smallest exchange between them. Whenever she saw Greg leaning over Clive’s desk, or when they bickered during a taping, or when, like that one day, she walked on them having passionate sex in the bathroom, her heart ached.  
  
Now, only after three months, Stephen had finally convinced her to leave her home more often. He took her out for drinks with a bunch of other friends, and she had a good time. They remembered the old times, they laughed, they fooled around. Tony, Mike, Sandi, Caroline, John, and the Stephens were a good company. They made her forget for a little while about Greg. They ended up playing improv games on the bar’s stage, performing for all the drunk guys that had happened to be there.  
  
When Stephen dropped Josie home that night, she waved and chuckled. They made plans for tea the next evening.  
  
Josie walked to the door, not expecting the package she would find there.  
  
A man was sitting on the wooden floor of her porch, his legs sprawled, and cupping an almost empty bottle of vodka on his lap. He was asleep, and drunk.  
  
“Greg?” Josie squealed, not believing her eyes.  
  


* * *

  
  
Josie was looking at Greg now. He was sprawled on her bed, stinking of alcohol, and unconscious.  
  
She was sitting in an armchair, her chin resting on her knees, her arms hugging her legs. She was going over what he had said. From what she could get from his drunken weeping, Clive had cheated on him. Greg was asking for forgiveness, saying he had made the wrong choice, claiming he still loved her. She didn’t know what to do, what to think.  
  
Greg stirred in his sleep. What  _was_  she supposed to do, anyway? Kick him out? Wait until he woke up and talk to him? Maybe call Stephen?  
  
While she was going over her choices in her mind, Greg finally woke up. He opened his eyes only a little, groaned when the sunlight hit them, and closed them again. He put an arm over his face and swallowed loudly.  
  
“Where am I?” He slurred.  
  
Josie got up and closed the window screens with a sigh.  _Maybe I should just leave them open and let him suffer_ , she thought with a mischievous smile, but she pushed the idea aside. He had been through plenty already.  
  
She walked to his side, offering him the glass of water she had left on her night table beforehand.  
  
“You’re at my place,” she replied as he slowly sat up and took the glass. “How are you?”  
  
“Hung over.”  
  
 Josie laughed through her nose once. “I can tell.”  
  
He groaned again, touching his head with his free hand. She handed him an aspirin, and he took it, grateful. A few moments of silence later, Greg was finally able to open his eyes properly.  
  
“I’m sorry, Jo, but I didn’t know where else to go,” he said, his voice still raspy.  
  
She nodded and swallowed.  
  
Greg groaned again, closing his eyes and still holding his head. “Fuck, I haven’t had that much to drink in a while…”  
  
Josie chuckled. “I don’t think anyone has ever had that much to drink, darling,” she stated, leaving the glass of water on the side table once more. “What happened, Greg?” She asked, more serious.  
  
He looked down. “Clive cheated on me,” he chuckled humorlessly. “It was fate, y’know? Fucking justice being done.”  
  
Josie rubbed his back, trying to make eye contact. “Hey, I didn’t want this, kitty.”  
  
“Rules of the universe, Jo. Constant equilibrium. I cheated on you, and he cheated on me,” he replied, dropping his head in his hands.  
  
She shushed him and hugged him. She hadn’t wanted that to happen. She didn’t want to see him suffer. She loved him too much to see him fall apart.  That’s why she never hit him hard; that’s why she let him go in the end; and that’s why she didn’t want him to cry now.  
  
“Listen to me, Greg,” she said, pulling back and lifting his chin with her hand. He was crying. “Listen, you did  _not_  deserve this.”  
  
“I did,” he replied, locking his eyes with hers.  
  
“No. You didn’t. No one deserves punishment for following their heart, silly. You went in pursuit of happiness. Clive turned out to be a dick. You didn’t deserve it. And I didn’t hold a grudge against you. Not even  _I_  wanted you to go through this pain.”  
  
Greg hugged her tightly again and wept for hours, interrupted only by a few sudden runs to the bathroom to empty his stomach.  
  
Josie called Stephen to cancel her plans for the afternoon.  
  


* * *

  
  
Some days later, Greg was still over at Josie’s house. They had started to re-build their friendship.  
  
They were drinking tea one afternoon, a couple of days later, when Greg turned serious.  
  
“Jo, I have something to tell you.”  
  
She felt her word begin to spin. Was he going to leave her again?  _Nah, he never warned when he did before. Why would he now?_ she thought bitterly.  
  
“I want us to give it another shot,” he stated, locking his eyes with hers. “I love you. I’ve never stopped loving you. Not a single bit. I need you in my life. From the moment I saw you, I knew you were right for me. And this thing with Clive just...” he shuddered. “It all makes sense now. You stuck with me ‘till the very end. Clive was a fucking stupid mistake. I should’ve never left you.”  
  
Josie’s head was now spinning even faster. He had left her. He hadn’t cared about her when he rushed after a guy he knew would never love him as much as she did. She had been alone. Greg had left her alone. He had given up on them, on their family. He had screwed up, time after time. And she had blindly taken him back, again and again. She had forgiven him, she had allowed him to hurt her. Her heart was slowly healing from all the damage he had done. Greg didn’t deserve even one of the chances Josie had given him. She was certain he could only hurt her.  
  
Even if he had assured her a thousand times he hated Clive now, how could she ever be complete and absolutely positive he wouldn’t run off with him if the guy gave him half a chance? How could she know for sure there wouldn’t be other  _Clives_  out there? How could she trust the man who had harmed her the most?  
  
Greg extended his hand to her and smiled.  
  
Josie knew it was wrong. She was afraid he would hurt her once more. She wasn’t sure she could take another heartbreak. She knew she should be walking away on him.  
  
But then again, we don’t love with our minds. Oh, life and love would be both so much easier if that were the case. But no, we love with our hearts, not our minds.  
  
Josie took Greg’s hand and smiled back.

**Author's Note:**

> When I began writing this, it was just another fic. But then, without me noticing, it became a bit too personal. I was in the middle of it when I realized I had been in a quite similar situation (both on Josie's and Greg's side.) So, when I did so, I decided I would speak my heart through it. It was truly helpful, and I'm both quite proud of this fic, and calm now.
> 
> Special thanks to my beloved [_cayangel_](http://clayangel.livejournal.com/), who was a great beta (as usual) and a great friend when I needed one the most. <3 Yours were the best pieces of advice. Thank you for so much. <3
> 
> (Crossposted to the wl-fanfiction comm at LJ)


End file.
